Article: The Greatest Sacrifice | Sis. Tesnia Grace George

Would you do something nice willingly for someone who hasn’t been very nice to you? Probably not. We often mechanically read the passage on Jesus’ crucifixion. But as a parent, would it ever cross your mind to give up your precious child, to save someone else from something terrible? Because that’s what God did when He sent His only begotten Son into the world to die for your sins and mine. It was inevitable that the Scriptures had to be fulfilled, but ever thought of how hard it would’ve been to give up Jesus? Ever wondered what Jesus had to bear? Living in constant communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit, Son of the Most High God, yet there He was, lying all alone, scourged and spat on, beaten up and thrashed, ridiculed and mocked, knowing that, in a few hours, nails would be piercing through His flesh, bones would be shattered apart within His own body. Yet He was willing to go through all this pain for a group of people from whom He never got an ounce of respect all His life.

The stranger who cuts through your path on the road, the relative who insults you, the friend who mocks at you sarcastically, the sibling who wrongfully accuses you, the bullies who makes your every day at college miserable, the colleagues who try to frame you, the boss who gives out your reward to another, the neighbours who vandalise your possessions – the list could go on. Would you ever want to do a selfless act of love for them? Not likely. The truth is, by our deeds, in some way or the other, we are all of these people and even more to Jesus and yet He endured all that agony so that you and I would be justified for our sins. We ought to honour this great sacrifice.
But do we really honour Jesus today in all we do? We always think of Pontius Pilate, Caiaphas, Judas Iscariot and all the people who were responsible for Jesus’ death as the wicked ones. But when we stray from the Word of God and live a life that comes nowhere to what pleases God and dishonour the purpose for which Jesus died, are we really the so called “good” ones? How then can we see ourselves any different from those who crucified Him when we seem to crucify Him yet again? “….since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame….”(Heb 6:6).
We go beyond our means to achieve great heights in life especially for our parents who have risked a lot for us, we feel an extra surge of love for the one who helped us get a job or stood by us during a rainy day and we’d want to repay them with that same love. We’d probably feel guilty too if we did otherwise. But if we carefully stop to ponder, all they have done for us are only to sustain a few temporal things in our life. What do we desire to do for our Master who redeemed us, not with temporal or perishable things but with the precious blood of His Son ? The only expectation God has of us is to lead a Holy life in accordance with the Word. Is that too much of Him to ask after the greatest sacrifice of all time was done for you and for me?

Tesnia Grace George

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